In the summer of 1940 Germany was poised to seize the French fleet and Hitler's threat to invade Britain could become a reality. Winston Churchill could, either trust the promises of the new French government never to hand over their ships to Hitler, or make sure the ships never joined the German navy by destroying them himself. Churchill's Deadliest Decision, reveals the darkest side of Britain's Finest Hour.

One could argue, absent this action, Hitler might have won the war. Recall that Great Britain stood alone against the German hoard in 1940 There was a great anti-war movement in the U.S. and Roosevelt doubted that Churchill had the resolve to fight on.His opinion changed after the bombing of the French Fleet. Only then did the "Lend-Lease" program go into effect.

I was more than pleased with this 60 minute documentary. The film recounts a compelling and historically important story and is a tragic tale from 1940. The piece was well researched, and very well portrayed in all respects: interviews of survivors, authentic film clips and photos. I watched it twice within a week. This show is memorable.

The DVD shows how close Britain was to catastrophe in 1940 and how skeptical Roosevelt was about their ability to survive. The politics of Churchill's decision appear as important as the military objective, somewhat botched as it was. Darlan's real intentions remain opaque as they were at the time. An enlightening DVD.